If you're looking for a team to support?
Cape Verde v Spain, Monday evening, 5pm Irish time.
Dublin-born Cape Verde star recruited on LinkedIn gets World Cup chanceHe was recruited on social media to play for a tiny island nation 3,000 miles from where he was born, and now a former Dublin bank worker looks set to face Spain at the World Cup.
Roberto Lopes' story sounds so far fetched even Hollywood scriptwriters might consider it implausible.
"I was not enjoying the work," says the 33-year-old about his desk job as he reflects on a wild, inspirational journey, from being a white-collar worker in the Republic of Ireland to playing for Cape Verde at their first World Cup.
The defender, nicknamed 'Pico', was a newly qualified mortgage adviser 10 years ago, playing part-time for Bohemians in the League of Ireland.
Then, in 2017, Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers offered Lopes a chance to give up his day job and throw himself into a full-time football career.
He has not looked back.
Lopes is expected to start for minnows Cape Verde when they face 2010 world champions Spain on Monday in Group H in Atlanta (17:00 BST kick-off).
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Lopes with his wife, Leah, and their baby, Diego, after Shamrock Rovers beat Cork City to win the 2025 FAI Cup at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. He still plays for Shamrock Rovers!
